A computer network is a collection of interconnected computing devices that can exchange data and share resources. A variety of devices operate to facilitate communication between the computing devices. For example, a computer network may include routers, switches, gateways, firewalls, and a variety of other devices to provide and facilitate network communication.
These network devices typically include mechanisms, such as management interfaces, for locally or remotely configuring the devices. By interacting with the management interface, a client can perform configuration tasks as well as perform operational commands to collect and view operational data of the managed devices. For example, the clients may configure interface cards of the device, adjust parameters for supported network protocols, specify physical components within the device, modify routing information maintained by a router, access software modules and other resources residing on the device, and perform other configuration tasks. In addition, the clients may allow a user to view current operating parameters, system logs, information related to network connectivity, network activity or other status information from the devices as well as view and react to event information received from the devices.
In some cases a network device may provide multiple management interfaces of different types. For example, a network device may support a management interface that presents a command line interface by which a client can enter text-based commands to be applied by the network device. As another example, the network device may provide a management interface that by which the commands and configuration data may be specified in accordance with a data description language, such as the extensible markup language (XML). Examples of such interfaces include interfaces that support the Network Configuration (NETCONF) protocol, or a derivative thereof, such as the Juniper Device Management Interface, to perform the configuration. Such interfaces may be useful for computer-driven clients, such as automated scripts or network management systems. Further information on the NETCONF protocol is described in R. Enns et al., RFC 4741: “NETCONF Configuration Protocol,” Network Working Group, the Internet Engineering Task Force draft, December 2006, available at http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4741, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.